MTRD : Project Annihilate
by Arian Eripmav
Summary: Project Annihilate tells the story of ten mutants who are forced to join the re-commissioned Weapon Plus Program, earlier Weapon X.Working under SHIELD and moreover Senator Robert Kelly, Chairman of US Committee of Armed Services and Chairman of Mutant Affairs; it is their job to bring the end of all mutants that were created by the Weapon X program.Wolverine on top of their list
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: The Plot and story belong to me. The Canon Characters, props and locations belong to Marvel. The Original Characters belong to the Fanfiction Authors who created them.  
**

* * *

**Weapon – X?**

A lone figure walked through the double doors of an old Victorian mansion on the outskirts of Bayville. Walking the length of the grand lounge, the person removed his overcoat and kept it on the coat rack beside the grand staircase that led to the upper levels of the house.

Climbing one step at a time with a firm hand on the balustrade he soon reached the first level of the house and took the left corridor that led to his personal study.

Opening the door to the sea-facing room the first thing that caught his sight was the envelope on the center table that was addressed to him, _Robert Kelly_.

Robert Kelly was an honest man.

He had been an honest citizen, an honest soldier, an honest Principal, an honest Mayor, an honest Senator and now he was all set to Chair the Offices of the Committee of Armed Services and the Committee of Mutant Affairs.

Although he was apt to be made the Chairman of the Committee of Armed Services, given his commendable service in the military and during the war period, it came as a huge surprise to the entire congress when he was declared the Joint-Chairman of the Committee of Mutant Affairs; the reason being that his hatred for mutants was widely known. Not only in his state but across the country, Robert Kelly was the face of the Anti-Mutant Revolution.

He was also responsible for introducing The Mutant Registration Act; an act that would snatch from the mutants their 'human' rights. Fortunately for the mutants, it was yet to pass.

The Mutant Registration Act however was only an initiator, the cheapest of tricks that the Chairman had up his sleeves. He had yet to bring out the big guns, guns that would sooner or later decimate the entire mutant populous and wipe their very existence from the face of the Earth.

Such were the workings of Kelly's brain. He sought to hate mutants. He saw them as dangerous, unpredictable beings. There was no other way he could see them. He failed to see them in a positive light but then again he had never come across a mutant doing anything productive. All he had seen mutants do was damage national and state property, hurt people directly or indirectly and in a few cases cause large scale destruction of towns and cities.

No, mutants were definitely a threat and he knew just what he needed to do to ensure the safety of his nation and that of mankind.

Picking up the envelope he surveyed it for the sender's address or a stamp. He didn't find any. Surprised at the fact that someone had managed to get a letter to his personal study despite the amount of security he employed, Kelly couldn't wait to open the envelope and find what was inside it.

He tore it open and withdrew from it a small hand-written note.

_You are Most Welcome. –F._

Yes, the security measures that he had taken to safeguard his mansion were good but they weren't good enough to keep the best out.

Crumpling the note in his hand he threw it into the waste paper basket beside the polished, oaken study table.

Finally, he thought to himself as he sat on the chair behind the table and rotated it to view the sun set on the horizon through the large French windows.

A smile crept onto his lips, mirroring the glint in his eyes.

* * *

Colonel Nick Fury, Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. wasn't happy. He was never happy but today it seemed the day had gone from bad to worse.

Rotating the paper weight on the table he cursed the day when he became SHIELD's director-in-chief. At least before he wouldn't have to listen to the rants of the politicians or take orders from them. Yes, Chairman Kelly hadn't requested him, but instead had demanded to meet him and none too politely at that. Fury had yet to forget the arrogance with which the man spoke, and had he not been responsible for his security he would have shot the man himself.

With a crash, the rotating paperweight fell to the floor, bringing Fury out of his thoughts.

Sighing, he got up from his chair and walked out of his office to head for the conference room at the deck of the S.H.I.E.L.D. air headquarters. It was nearly 6:00 PM and his guest was already being escorted through the main hangar bay and the various lower levels of the airship to the Control Deck on the top where Fury was supposed to meet him.

As he walked out of his office two armed guards fell in step behind him.

Fury wasn't one for pomp and show, but such was the dedication of his agents that they didn't let him out of sight for his own security.

"You can tell Agent Hill that I don't need a Personal Guard," said Fury to the guards who immediately fell behind him but didn't let him out of their sight.

Fury knew he wouldn't be able to get them off his back, but he knew that he could push them around and save them from getting shot by his second in command.

Putting a hand on his com-link he spoke into the microphone. "What's the status of the package Agent Hill?" he asked in a deep but clear voice that didn't hide his annoyance.

"We are taking the elevator from corridor 2B on the maintenance level Sir," came back the reply after initial static, in Agent Hill's sharp but calm voice.

Fury smiled. He loved the woman for her calm demeanor.

He walked into an elevator at the end of the corridor which took him directly to the Control deck. Fury straightened his coat, tucked in his shirt and clasped his weapon holster.

A few seconds later the glass door of the elevator swung open to reveal the bustling Control deck and a crimson horizon beyond the glass windows, set ablaze by the setting sun.

Walking out of the elevator he walked directly to his chair at a raised platform at the center of the Deck. He didn't take his seat knowing that Agent Hill was just about to arrive with their package. He was quite right.

Not a single minute after, the elevator doors swung open again, this time to reveal a host of people that filed onto the Control deck.

At the front of the group stood Agent Hill who walked up to him and took her place on his left.

The rest of the group was being led by a middle aged man, wearing a pair of rimless spectacles and dressed in a formal business suit. Beside him stood two other men in suits who Fury assumed to be his personal guard.

He wasn't surprised to see them nor was he offended by their presence. The person whose presence Fury took offence from was the person standing at the back of the group between two women he didn't know personally but had read about.

Between Dr. Kavita Rao, a geneticist with expertise in mutation and Dr. Sybil Zane, another scientist who in her own words was an expert at cloning stood Colonel Bolivar Trask, a tall man with pepper grey hair and a sickly frame but nevertheless his grey eyes were glinting with the sharpness of a butcher's knife.

Fury hated the man and that was probably the reason that the meeting started on the wrong foot. "What's he doing here?" his question directed at Chairman Kelly who simply smiled at Fury.

"Am I to understand that you have worked with Dr. Trask before?" Kelly asked knowing the answer all too well.

Bringing up his years of training Fury blew of the momentary anger and put on a mask of calmness. "We were well acquainted in the past," he said in reply to the Chairman's query.

"Good then. Can we take this conversation somewhere private? I'd rather not discuss matters of national defense out in public," Kelly said, rolling his eyes.

Fury didn't know about Hill but he definitely saw red. Once again he had to call upon his anger management skills to maintain his mask of calm. Luckily, Agent Hill took over for him and directed their 'guests' to the conference room beside the observation deck.

Sighing, Fury followed suit and walked to the conference room at a snail's pace, reaching it once all his guests were seated in their respective chairs while he sat at the head of the table.

The motley group sat in silence for quite some time before Kelly opened his mouth to speak.

Clearing his throat he drew the attention of those sitting at the table with him. He was about to speak when another man with cropped hair walked into the conference room, followed by a woman with dark red, shoulder length hair.

Kelly instantly recognized them as SHIELD Agents, for they were both wearing the same uniform as Agent Hill who had earlier received him at the Aircraft bay. The similarity didn't end there, for they both mirrored her indifferent attitude.

Kelly decided not to take any notice of the new entrants and turned his gaze to face Fury who was sitting on his left and Trask who was sitting directly opposite.

"Colonel Fury, I'd first like to thank you for inviting me to your facility and also, I'd like to _apologize,_" he said emphasizing on the word, drawing it out, "for bringing some guests of my own."

Fury simply nodded, beckoning him to continue.

Folding his hands, he then turned his entire attention to Fury. "Before I say anything else I'd like to assure you that I wouldn't interfere in your job for the sole reason that you are doing it perfectly," Kelly said in a matter of fact manner.

Reclining in the chair he continued. "However, I do have a small point to make Director."

Fury's ears cocked at the statement while the other agents in the room stiffened.

"I personally believe you haven't made much of an effort when it comes to handling _or _dealing with mutants."

The temperature in the room seemed to have dipped by several degrees for Fury chose not to reply to Kelly. No one else in the room spoke up. Kelly however was waiting for an answer, an answer that he got from the most unexpected source.

"How would you like us to deal with mutants?" Agent Hill spoke up, stepping forward.

Kelly smiled. "I'm sorry Agent Hill, but I want Colonel Fury to answer my query."

"How would you like us to deal with them?" Fury deadpanned, reiterating the question that Hill asked.

Kelly however chose not to answer. Instead he motioned for Trask to speak up.

Drawing out his palmtop from the inner pocket of his coat, he kept it at the center of the table and tapped a button to show them a holographic version of the previously built Sentinel.

A smile crawled its way onto Fury's face. "You know what happened to them last time don't you?" he asked with a wide smile on his face.

Trask however returned the smile. "I do, and that's why I have come up with an alternative," he said, his voice bordering on excitement. Tapping another few buttons on his palm top he generated a holographic view of a human that much resembled…

"Steve," said the other two agents from behind Agent Hill simultaneously.

"Captain America," corrected Trask, "or in terms of Defense Research, WEAPON 1, codenamed PROJECT REBIRTH," he further added.

Fury's smile faltered. He believed he knew where Trask was taking the conversation but he wasn't sure. However, it seemed he was the only who understood what Trask was implying. It seemed Kelly was completely unaware of what Trask was about to suggest, for at that very moment he burst out, "What are you talking about Trask? I brought you here to discuss the Sentinel Program, not a super soldier in cryogenic preservation."

Trask sighed. "Sir, the Sentinels, though efficient, aren't strong enough to combat with mutants. There have been instances when a single mutant has taken out an entire squadron of Sentinels."

"Then why did you ask me to re-start the program," Kelly cut in, banging his fist on the table.

"I never asked you to re-start the Sentinel program. I came to you asking for support and funding for my anti-mutant defense program," Trask said, employing the behavior patterns of the SHIELD agents.

Kelly was furious; his eyes showed it.

"What exactly do you mean Trask? Tell me in simple words," Kelly said, seething with anger.

"Simple you say? Fine, I want to re-start the Weapon plus program. Pick it up from where it was left," Trask said without wasting a breath.

Kelly however was at a loss for words. He simply had no idea what Trask was talking about.

"What the hell are you talking about Trask?" Kelly shouted, voicing his thoughts.

"I'm talking about the CIA's joint project with SHIELD to experiment on and create super-powered human beings to be used as Weapons of War," Trask said, maintaining the calmness in his voice.

Kelly looked as if he had been given two slaps on each cheek.

Fury, realizing that the next question might come his way decided on giving details before he could be asked anything. "The WEAPON plus project was started after the First World War. After the first failed attempt which was referred to as WEAPON 0 another experiment was conducted to enhance the strength, speed, agility and senses of a human being and transform him into a super soldier. The experiment succeeded and Captain America, codenamed WEAPON 1 was born."

Fury stopped, waiting for Kelly's reaction but the man remained mute and Fury took it as an opportunity to continue with his story, "After the success of WEAPON 1, several other experiments were created. However, the next five experiments, codenamed WEAPON 2 through 6 failed miserably. The Government decided to lower the funding and scrap the Super Soldier project. It was then that SHIELD came to collaborate with Department H of the Canadian Secret Services and continue with the WEAPON PLUS PROGRAM. From then on the program focused on using mutants or human beings with special characteristics as test subjects, test subjects that assured successful experiments."

Another round of silence followed Fury's words.

It seemed Kelly had a lot to take in and a lot more to consider before kicking off his so-called anti-mutant defense mechanism.

"Are you trying to say that our Intelligence Agencies have known about mutants all along?" Kelly asked in a low voice, unable to mask his anger.

"Yes," Fury answered, "but I'd like to hear more from Dr. Trask now." He added, training his gaze at his former colleague.

Glaring, Trask slid a file across the table to Fury.

"I'd like to hear it from you Trask," Fury said, without even touching the brown paper packet.

"I have already told you. I want to re-start the weapon plus program…"

"No," Kelly cut in.

"The Chairman is right," Fury added. "How do you plan on making an anti-mutant defense system with mutants at the core of it?" His words dripped with sarcasm.

"The same way you use Mutants as Agents," Trask shot back, changing the screen of his palm top to reveal photographs of several serving and ex-SHIELD Agents.

Getting up from his chair, Trask motioned his hand over the palmtop, enlarging the holographic projection.

"This, Chairman, is SHIELD's closely guarded secret," Trask said, pointing to the holographic projections that now covered the entire room.

"Would you like to tell the Chairman more about this or should I?" he said, turning his head to face Fury.

"Be my guest," Fury replied in a low voice.

"Fine, I guess we will have to start from where you left off," Trask said, arching his eyebrow. "We'll start with TEAM X."

"Team X?" Kelly asked, curious as to what more was left to know. It seemed to him that the Intelligence Agencies had known about the mutants all along and what made him angrier was that they had chosen to do nothing about it.

"Yes, Mr. Chairman. Team X," Trask replied, flicking his hand over the palm top again. The holographic images changed and instead of the file photos of numerous field agents, it now displayed five figures. "Agent Zero," he said, pointing to the tall man with Asian features and an upward curved smile. "Sabretooth," he said, gesturing to the man with long-dirty blond hair who looked feral and monstrous, someone who Kelly had seen before.

"I have seen this one before," Kelly said; the fear in his voice was evident from his last experience with the wild man. "You can't tell me that he was created. Why would anyone create him?"

"No one created him," Trask replied. "He was the only one not to undergo any enhancements. His brother on the other hand…" Trask continued, bringing forth the image of a masked man with metal claws on his hands "was gifted invulnerability by our own government."

"How?" Kelly asked, confused as to why the government would want to make a mutant invulnerable. He still couldn't understand why they would need super soldiers when there were no wars to fight.

"That's a long story Chairman. All you need to know is that he is indestructible and that his name is Wolverine," Trask said, satisfied that he had managed to put Fury under a thick pile of shit.

"So S.H.I.E.L.D. is responsible for this, all of this?" Kelly asked looking towards Fury, his voice unnaturally loud.

"No," Fury simply replied; his voice was still low and calm.

"But you do employ mutants as Agents don't you?" Trask counter questioned.

"Yes…" Fury replied. "We do employ mutants but we control them to the best of our abilities," he further added, his eye boring into Trask's.

"How?" Trask asked.

"We train them to be loyal. We train them to be disciplined soldiers right from their childhood. We haven't failed as yet," Agent Hill shot back unable to control herself any further.

"That's not enough and you know it isn't," Trask said looking at the female agent, his lips curved in an upward smirk. "I'm sure you employ methods that force them into obedience."

"Can we talk clearly here?" Kelly shouted, jumping out of his seat and banging the table with his fists. His face contorted with fear and anger. It was hard to say which emotion was dominating.

Silence fell across the room but it lasted for mere moments, for the person who had brought about the silence was the one who broke it.

"Director Fury," Kelly addressed S.H.I.E.L.D.'s director in a voice that he was fighting hard to keep calm.

Nick Fury, realizing that it was best not to instigate the Chairman of Defense anymore decided to bite his tongue so as to avoid any further debate.

"Director Fury, it seems that although you are highly proficient at gathering intelligence and maintaining world peace, _you have absolutely no idea on how to deal with mutants,_" said Kelly, emphasizing each and every word in the last part of the sentence, as if he wanted to hammer them into Fury's head.

Fury however maintained his calm and chose not to say anything but his years' worth of training was just about to be put to practice.

"Therefore, I want you to work with _Colonel Trask_, who will be heading the Mutant Threat Response Division," Kelly said, addressing both service men simultaneously.

Fury kept his silence. He knew he didn't have a choice. It wasn't as if he had any authority over them, except for the funding which he too couldn't stop, but Fury was a man who believed in keeping communication channels open. His silence today would go a long way.

"I hope you understand my decision Director?" Kelly asked, getting up from his seat and ready to leave.

"Yes sir," Fury said, getting up from his chair and followed by Trask. The two scientists however continued to sit.

"Good, I hope to hear from you soon then," Kelly said, walking out of the room followed by Agent Hill.

Fury saw Hill taking Kelly across the control deck to the elevators. As soon as the elevator doors closed behind them, Fury whirled on the spot, grabbed Trask by the neck and shoved him into the wall.

"What are you playing at Trask?" Fury shouted, strangling the man and making it hard for him to breathe. Trask clawed at Fury's hand but to no avail.

It was after a solid minute when Trask started to lose color that Fury eased his grip and let him fall to the floor.

"Hawkeye," he said, addressing the male agent in the room, "Take him to the med-bay and Romanoff escort the ladies to their rooms on level 2. I presume they are going to be staying with us."

With those words, Fury walked out of the conference room and began walking to his study. He needed some solace, especially if he had to begin working with Trask tomorrow.

* * *

**Authors Note: So the Original Characters start appearing from the next chapter onwards and i will have introduced them all by chapter 5. Atleast that's what i hope to do.**

**I'd also like to thank _TheWritingGirl23, _who has proof read and edited the chapter for me.  
**

**REVIEW.  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**M. T. R. D.**

Looking across the horizon from the observation deck was Fury's favorite past time. It was also the only thing that brought some serenity to his life. Being the director of America's most secret intelligence agency brought far more than the usual stresses to the head position. Deception, tough decisions, and morally ambiguous actions were practically a daily occurrence. A sense of peace and calm was a rare commodity. So one could imagine how angry he'd have been when he heard the voice he least wanted to hear calling out to him.

"You have a nice show running here Colonel," Trask said in his usual cocky voice.

Fury didn't bother to turn. He only had one thing to say. "I don't want to see you before the assigned time Trask."

The single statement wiped the smug grin from Trask's face. He knew it wasn't right to instigate Fury. Instigating him meant asking for painful repercussions, repercussions like he felt yesterday.

Taking his leave, he walked off from the observation deck leaving behind a silent Nick Fury. Try as he might, with that unpleasant reminder, the sense of serenity could not be resurrected.

oOo

Unfortunately for the stoic Director, it wasn't long before the two saw each other again.

Fury was already present in the conference room beside the Control deck. He was being briefed by Agent Hill when Trask walked in with Dr. Rao and Dr. Zane by his side.

"Quite a scare you gave my fellow scientists Director," Trask said, taking the seat opposite Fury with both scientists choosing to sit on either side of him.

"I guess an apology is due," Fury said none too politely. If he was to trust his gut feeling, these women were going to be nothing more than trouble.

"Apology accepted," said the blonde haired Dr. Zane while the geneticist from India kept her silence.

"But he hasn't even apologized as yet," Trask said, a lopsided smile playing on his lips.

"He will," Dr. Zane said in a placid voice, "I think we ought to start working. Right Dr. Rao?" she asked the woman sitting opposite her who simply nodded.

"There are a few things that I want the three of you to know before we begin," said Nick, drawing the attention of his guests to himself.

"Go on," Trask said, pulling out his palm top and a sheaf of papers.

"The MTRD is to operate from SHIELD Headquarters as our extension. While decisions regarding research, development and testing rest with you Trask, sanction and authority of all field operations would have to be processed through me and would require my authorization," Fury said in a no-nonsense tone.

"That's fine with us," Trask said, smiling.

What Fury wouldn't have given to wipe the smile off his face, the smug bastard. Sadly, there wasn't much he could do at the moment except wait for Trask to mess things up so badly that no one would stop him from throwing him over board without a parachute.

"How are we to organize the division, director?" Trask asked, reading through the papers he had brought.

Fury sighed; it hadn't been a minute and he was already frustrated.

"I'll be deploying some of my agents to assist with intelligence gathering. We could always recruit from the Marines, Seals and any other place where we might find the talent," Fury said, but from where he left off Agent Hill continued.

"We can put the men into teams or squads and train every squad to deal with a particular mutant category."

"The Sentinels can be used as backup but I believe they'd have to be considerably improved," Fury further added.

"What about provisions for research and development?" Dr. Zane asked.

"The two lower level laboratories have been cleared for your use. The equipment that you had ordered will be delivered sometime today," Agent Hill replied.

"What of our test subjects?" Trask asked, looking up from the sheaf that he was holding.

"I won't feign ignorance as I know what you are talking about. My answer is NO," Fury said in a calm but assertive voice.

"But Chairman Kelly…" Trask began

"The Chairman is yet to approve the recruitment of mutants," Fury said, completing the statement.

"This is absurd! I was brought here to further my research on mutants," Dr. Zane said getting up from her chair. She had already begun to gather the papers when Fury spoke again. "What does your research entail Dr. Zane?"

"I believe I don't owe you any answers Director," Zane said, as she finished gathering her papers and walked out of the conference room leaving behind Trask and Dr. Rao.

"I thought the Chairman left the functioning of the MTRD to me," Trask shot back angrily.

"He did," Fury agreed, "But as Director-in-chief of SHIELD I would never recruit a plethora of mutants for training. They are for the lack of a better term, dangerous," he further added.

"If you won't allow us to recruit any new mutants then how about we use mutants already working for SHIELD?" Trask questioned, a slight frown creasing his forehead.

"There are no mutants under SHIELD's employment as of now," Agent Hill replied, glaring daggers at Trask.

"What about those in your training facilities?" Trask questioned further, earning a silence from the two agents.

"Got you, didn't I?" Trask said with a self-satisfied smile.

"They are off home base. It'd take a few days to bring them here," Agent Hill replied.

Trask had to admit that Fury's second in command was quick-witted. Nonetheless, he was an ex-SHIELD Agent himself.

"'You can acquire automatic gene sequences and multi-core, three dimensional, computer vision processors in less than a few hours but you can't transport a few mutants on one of those sonic copters of yours?" Trask asked, with a raised eyebrow.

Agent Hill opened her mouth to reply when Fury spoke up. "You'll have the first few report to you before the day ends."

Trask began to stare at Fury. "You heard me," Fury said. "I'll have a few _Agents _report to you before the day ends."

Coming out of his momentary surprise that Fury had agreed so quickly Trask turned his gaze to Agent Hill. "You were saying?" he mocked the covert-ops specialist.

Pursing her lips into a thin line, Agent Hill got up from the conference table and walked out of the room without sparing another glance for any of the room's occupants.

"I'd like to make one thing clear Trask," Fury said, as soon as the glass door closed behind Agent Hill.

"What might that be?" Trask asked, confused as to what Fury was about to ask of him now.

"There will be no experimentation or tests conducted on the mutants," Fury said in a dead-pan and serious voice.

Before Trask could say anything Dr. Rao spoke up. "I assure you Director; we'd not harm the mutants in any way. Just the usual blood samples for research purposes. I assure you we wouldn't carry out any live testing or experimentation," said the Indian woman in a reassuring and sincere voice.

This was the first time she had spoken and for some reason Fury felt as if he could trust her. Still, he'd be a fool to trust her_ completely_.

"I'd be keeping an eye as well Doctor," Fury added.

"Yes, yes, that's all very good but what of the Weapon plus Program?" Trask cut in.

"What of it?" Fury asked, pinching the bridge of his nose. He was completely frustrated on having to deal with Trask.

"I thought I was supposed to revive it," Trask said, equally frustrated with Fury now.

"You sure are thinking a lot aren't you?" Fury asked.

Sighing, Trask got up from the table. "I think it's best to end this conversation here. I hope to see your _Agents _before the day ends," he said, grabbing his papers and palmtop before walking out of the room, stopping momentarily to see if Dr. Rao was coming with him or not.

When he saw that she was busy going through files on her own palmtop he decided to leave her be.

Closing the door behind him he didn't hear Dr. Rao breathe a sigh of relief as she saw him leave.

Fury smiled. "I take it that you aren't fond of him," he said with a smirk on his face.

"You bet," the young doctor replied, gathering her files getting ready to leave.

Fury too got up from his chair and walked to the door and held it open for the young woman.

"Thank you," she said, as she walked past him to the elevators on the other end of the control deck.

Fury simply nodded. Closing the door to the conference room he walked to the communications officer and gave him a set of codes to broadcast.

The communications officer, not a day over twenty, typed the codes onto the computer and broadcasted them on SHIELD's bandwidth without asking a single question.

Seeing them transmit, Fury smiled as the first reply came in under a minute.

"_Looks like it's time to cool things down" _read the message.

Unknowingly Fury cracked a smile, so did the young communications officer when another response message popped onto the screen. "_Looks like it's time to cut the power again."_

To anyone else, these messages would have been nonsensical but to Fury they meant something else completely.

"Tell Agent Hill to send a Sonic Copter to Location-4073NWG along with Agent Romanoff," Fury said, instructing the Comm. officer.

A few seconds later another few messages popped onto the screen.

"Send another sonic copter along with Agent Barton to Location: Blacksmith," Fury added, looking at the new messages.

"Tell Agent Hill to come find me some time later," he told the Comm. officer before he turned his back to him and walked away.

oOo

It was a pleasant evening in Central Park, one where people decided to ditch their apartments in the high rises and trade it for a stroll under the warm setting sun and a canopy of pre-autumn trees.

It wasn't chilly, rather the temperature was slightly off for the time of the year but no one seemed to be complaining. The complaints started when the sun had almost disappeared from the horizon and all that was left of it was a reddish-orange glow that lit the sky.

Like the cracking of a whip, a chill began to spread through the park.

As the chill in the air grew with darkening of the sky, the visitors decided to cut down their strolls, parents called to their children and the kiosk owners shut shop. In a matter of minutes the park that was buzzing with life came to a complete standstill, except for the occasional chirping of crickets or an owl hoot.

However, in the dim light a tall figure emerged from the woods and made his way across the park to Belvedere Castle.

George McLancent wasn't an ordinary human being. He wasn't a warm person; rather he was the exact opposite of it.

After walking for a few minutes the castle soon came into his line of sight. It was a pre-decided reconnaissance location and wasn't one of his choosing.

Walking up the flight of stone stairs he soon found himself under the gazebo, a good five minutes before point of contact but it seemed that he wasn't the only one.

Walking across the castle's courtyard towards him was another figure.

Although there wasn't much light, he could judge the person approaching him was definitely female. She walked with a definite grace, a knapsack on her shoulder as she walked right towards him.

When she was close enough, George was able to observe her more carefully.

The girl was definitely Irish, after all it took one to know one.

She didn't look threatening in any way. In fact she looked completely gentle. Everything about her exuded her delicacy. Whether it was her slender frame, soft features or green eyes that induced warmth, nothing about her signaled him to behave cautiously.

Walking into the gazebo she nodded to him while simultaneously she raised her hand and brought it to the back of her head.

George seemed to be waiting for an excuse and drew out his semi-automatic pistol bringing it to position between her eyes.

The girl flinched for a second, before she jerked her hand and let loose her hair that she had tied in a messy knot.

Without sparing another moment, George put his weapon back in.

"Vindex 35," the girl said, running her hand through her hair.

George turned his back to her. "Vindex 17," he replied back to her, sharing his own S.H.I.E.L.D codename.

"So you aren't the one to talk I presume?" asked the girl, nonchalantly.

"I wonder how you got that impression," said George, his eyes scouring the trees for any movement.

"It was easy. You are the shoot first ask questions later variety," the girl retorted with a smile tugging at her lips.

George ignored her. Instead he picked up his duffel bag, put it over his shoulder and began to walk towards the clump of trees across the pond.

"What the Hell? Wait for me…" the girl shouted from behind him. George however didn't slow down and maintained his pace. The Irish lass followed him, cursing him under her breath.

"Where are we going?" she asked him.

George once again ignored her and continued to walk towards the clump of trees. He was almost there and he wanted to get out of here as soon as possible. He didn't like people to wait on his account.

"Can you please tell me where you are taking me?" she shouted, coming to a halt a few steps behind him.

"Looks like you missed a class or two during your Covert Lessons?" came a female voice from behind her.

A smile came upon her face as she recognized the familiar voice. Loosening the grip on her bag she turned to see the S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent dressed in her Kevlar bodysuit with the S.H.I.E.L.D. logo highlighted in white on her shoulders.

The Agent had deep wine red hair that she wore to her shoulders and her deep blue eyes gleamed with familiarity. "It's nice to see you again Maeve," the Agent said, bringing forward her hand.

Maeve Mackenzie, or S.H.I.E.L.D Agent Vindex 35, caught Agent Romanoff's extended hand in a subtle grip and shook it gently before letting go and falling in step behind the Veteran S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent.

"I didn't know you were my contact, I thought…" Maeve left her sentence incomplete, instead she gestured to the tall, lanky boy who disappeared into the clump of trees before them.

"Cain?" Agent Romanoff asked with a disbelieving look.

"Don't give me that look. He was the only one at the Reconnaissance location," Maeve said, following Agent Romanoff into the woods.

"He was early as usual," Romanoff said, leading Maeve through the clump of trees to the clearing where one of the sonic copters sat, ready to take off.

The two women entered the Sonic Copter.

"Exit is secure. Take her up pilot," Romanoff said into her microphone, closing the bulk exit at the rear of the copter.

"Affirmative, Agent Romanoff. Copter is ready to take off. All passengers are to strap themselves into their seats," came the Pilot's voice over the intercom.

Maeve secured her duffel bag in an overhead locker and took the seat beside the boy she had met earlier while Agent Romanoff took the seat opposite them.

Now that Maeve had the chance to observe the boy closely she was a little taken back by his appearance.

The boy was pale, pale to the extent of his skin tone resembling a faint blue color. His eyes matched his skin, adding to the fact that they were a chill inducing, ice blue. His pointed features and hollowed face made him look much older but she knew they were relatively the same age, though she didn't bother to ask.

"How are you George?" Agent Romanoff asked as the Copter began to lift vertically into the air.

"I'm good Agent Romanoff, you?" he replied, his voice gentle and calm, a complete turnover from how he had behaved with Maeve.

"Alive and kicking," Agent Romanoff said with a slight smile, as the Sonic Copter achieved its maximum vertical height and engaged its thrusters taking them towards S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Helicarrier, also referred to as _Home Base_.

oOo

Agent Clint Barton stood in front of the Washington Monument waiting for his packages.

Night had already fallen and there wasn't much time left for him and his contacts to make it to Home Base before the allotted time of arrival. There was going to be a delay, he was sure of it.

Or maybe not, he thought as he saw a motely group of teenagers walking towards him.

He hadn't met his contacts before today but he knew that this motley group of teenagers was who he had been sent for.

In the lead was a tall woman, her face shrouded by the hoodie she was wearing and her body covered with a heavy trench coat. She walked with elegance, her head held high and her shoulders back.

This woman had to be Belladonna, also known as Vindex 24. He had heard much about her from Natasha and he wasn't sure how much of it to believe. She wasn't a regular S.H.I.E.L.D. operative but was honor bound to them in exchange for her father's protection.

Two men followed close to her.

These two Clint recognized as S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives. Although he hadn't met with them he had gone through their case files and histories, not to mention mission and training logs.

The man on the left was Alex Rogers, codenamed Dynamo. He was the living embodiment of energy. Clint in his entire career as an Agent had never seen such an energetic person. Although his talent information was classified, Clint suspected that Dynamo was a mutant.

Beside him walked another S.H.I.E.L.D. operative who had been put under lockdown by the CIA but S.H.I.E.L.D. had hired him in exchange of critical information regarding the Gulf Nations. Sean Mason was his real name, but Vindex 46 was what he was commonly known as.

With the ability to create multiple copies of himself and project tactokinetic illusions, Sean was a highly efficient covert operative.

Behind Sean's hulking form walked another man, maintaining enough distance from the group.

Clint came to identify him as Andrew Mancey, another regular S.H.I.E.L.D. Covert operative with excellent memory and multilingual talents. Clint had gone through Andrew's profile as well but his talent information like Dynamo was classified.

It didn't take them much time to walk up to him and identify themselves.

The woman, who was the first to reach him, lowered her hood to reveal herself. With eyes darker than night she nodded. "Vindex 24," she said, introducing herself.

The three men soon came to stand beside her and introduced themselves one by one with their given operative names.

Once the introductions were complete Clint asked them to follow him to the parking lot. From there he drove them to the airbase where the Sonic Copter was waiting for them.

Without any delay he had the four operatives strapped in and ready for their journey to Home Base before an urgent message came by from Agent Hill.

_Pick up the Dragon as well_, beeped the message on his com-device.

Clint cursed under his breath before looking to the young operatives. "Anyone interested in capturing a Dragon?" he asked them, earning incredulous looks from them.

Rolling his eyes, Clint powered his weapon's glove and removed the safety off of his bow. "Thought so," he said before asking the Pilot to fly the Copter to the new co-ordinates as sent by Home Base.

This was going to be interesting, he thought to himself.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks WritingGirl23. Guys this chapter is coming out early due to her efforts.**

Thanks for all the reviews on the first chapter. I hope you guys enjoy the OCs as they come.

_Next chapter we see Agent Barton and his team capture a dragon. Trask gets some mutants for his team and we get several more OC introductions._

**Review, tell me what you think of your OC**


	3. Chapter 3

**Of Dragons and Gargoyles**

* * *

"What's the mission again?" asked Belladonna with an arched eyebrow as she zipped up her Kevlar bodysuit.

"He said something about catching a dragon," Alex replied, strapping on his breastplate and locking his pistols in the waist holsters.

"Right!" she said, rolling the word. "How exactly do they plan on doing that?"

A distant roar echoed across the industrial area.

Belladonna and Alex had been asked to stay behind as backup. Agent Barton had told them that they'd be called for if they were needed. They had protested being left behind, but one look from the Veteran Agent had silenced them. They stayed behind while the others advanced without them.

Exchanging a knowing glance, the two operatives slid open the cabin doors of the copter and rushed out in the direction of the sound.

Slinking in the shadows cast by the behemoth warehouses, the two figures soon reached the warehouse where the sound was emanating from.

"What are your powers?" Belladonna asked Alex in a rushed voice.

"The hell?" Alex said, clearly taken aback by her out of the blue question.

"This is not the time to keep secrets," Belladonna said, removing the safety off of her gun and cocking it.

Alex did the same, taking out the twin pistols from their holsters before replying. "I don't tire," he said nonchalantly.

"What?" Belladonna screamed, and that was it. The wall behind which they were standing was blown to smithereens by an explosion of some kind, knocking both operatives off their feet and face first into the dirt.

oOo

Hawkeye a.k.a. Agent Clint Barton had conceded to the fact that this mission was about to fail. He didn't understand what Fury was thinking when he assigned him the job to subdue a mutant, contain him, and bring him back to Home Base.

Fury had told him that he'd be more than happy to re-assign the mission to Natasha, but that was something Hawkeye simply couldn't allow. Therefore, here he was fighting a mutant who for some reason had decided to change himself into a dragon. No, scratch that; _he __**was**__ a dragon._

Six and a half feet tall, standing on both legs, a whip like tail with jagged spikes at its tip, body covered in scales and a snout where a normal human mouth should have been; Clint for the first time in his entire career had come face to face with a real-live, dragonish creature. On top of that, it had wings to boot, which meant it was definitely capable of flying.

With Sean and Andrew occupying the creature with cross-location gunfire, Hawkeye climbed to the highest perching point that he could find in the warehouse. Once in position, he took out a small staff which expanded into a curving bow with a mounted laser-targeting designator, not that he needed one.

Pulling a stun arrow from his quiver, he mounted it on the bow. With a firm hold on the fletching he drew the arrow, waiting for the right opportunity to release, and when he did the arrow whizzed through the air and buried itself in the dragon's thick skin, making him roar and cry out in pain. Roars, moving from pain to fury, that Clint knew would definitely attract any unwanted casualties towards them.

"Sean, Andrew, continue firing. Keep him confused. I'm going to try and bring him down once and for all," Clint whispered into his microphone.

"Copy," came the identical replies over his comm. link which was soon followed by a barrage of gunfire at the creature.

Andrew continued to fire at the creature, while Sean had an altogether different trick up his sleeve to keep the creature occupied. Within seconds several doppelgangers that resembled Sean had the dragon surrounded.

The dragon roared several times, trying to scare them away before he began to breathe red hot flames at them. Surprisingly the flames did no damage to any of them and the doppelgangers continued to stand there in a tight ring around the dragon while the real Sean and Andrew continued their cross-fire at the powerful beast.

While Andrew and Sean kept the dragon occupied, Clint drew another arrow from his quiver. This time, as he mounted it on his bow he detached the arrowhead from the shaft and replaced it with another arrowhead that he took out from his utility belt.

_This should do the trick_, he thought to himself as he fixed it onto the shaft.

Mounting the modified arrow on his bow, he carefully took aim to hit the dragon at the base of its neck.

With his eye set on target, he let the arrow loose. It sliced through the air and wedged itself between the dragon's collar bone and spine.

The dragon howled in pain and dropped to the ground as a shock of 500 volts ran through its body.

"It's down," Clint spoke into his microphone. Unfortunately, it seemed he had spoken too soon, for the dragon rose once again and breathed out a massive ball of fire that blinded him and caused the ground beneath his feet to shake.

The explosion from the blast of fire shook the entire warehouse, bringing plaster and dust raining down from the ceiling as the structure quaked. It was only after several minutes, once the commotion had ceased, that Clint regained his sight.

The first thing that he saw was smoke…not to mention the clouds of dust that had risen with the explosion.

Coughing, his hand reached to his microphone. "Is everyone fine?" he asked.

After several minutes, during which he received no reply from either Alex or Sean, he decided to contact the copter pilot and ask him to send Belladonna and Alex. Tuning the frequency of his comm. link to that of the Sonic Copter's pilot he spoke into the microphone. "Eagle 2X3, do you copy?" he said in a ragged voice.

"Loud and clear Hawkeye," said the pilot.

Heaving a sigh of relief, Clint continued to speak into the microphone. "I have two agents down and I'm not in very good shape either. Send Vindex 24 and Dynamo down here," he said in low and strained voice.

"They left a few minutes ago Sir. Haven't they reached your location? Should I call for additional support?" asked the pilot from the other side of the comm. channel.

Clint cursed the two operatives. If and when he got his hands on them, powers or no powers he was going to teach them a lesson they were never going to forget.

"Call for backup immediately. Also tell Home Base to prepare themselves for _Code Methuselah;_ and pilot, I want information on _those two_ now," Clint barked, bursting with anger.

"Yes sir," said the pilot, a little shaken.

The comm. link fell silent except for the brief periods when Clint tried to contact his teammates without a reply from any of them.

Clint cursed Fury. What was wrong with the man, sending him in here with a bunch of rookie, upstart, half-cocked, super-powered mutants to apprehend a clearly out-of-control, animalistic creature? What was he thinking?

Clint's inner rant came to an end when he heard static on his comm. link.

"Eagle 2X3 to Hawkeye, do you copy?" came the pilot's rehearsed voice.

"I copy Eagle 2X3," Clint replied, taking deep breaths to keep calm.

"Home Base has dispatched a team with a cryogenic containment device. Also, I have succeeded in locating Vindex 24 and Dynamo. They are just outside the building sir, but their position hasn't changed over the last few minutes…" said the pilot, but Clint didn't hear anything after the mention of a dispatched team, for he too had passed out from mental fatigue.

oOo

Briana Andrews was a one of a kind S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent. Unlike other Agents who had other ambitions in their life, Briana trained her entire childhood to become a soldier; correction, the _best _soldier. She wanted to be the best soldier there ever could be, and to an extent she had proven herself to be one, especially when it came to following orders without question.

Opening the cabin door of the double rotor helicopter, she jumped out, and along with a dozen other soldiers, she made her way to the warehouse that was the source of multiple distress calls.

It had been an hour and a half since a message had been relayed to them that the entire reconnaissance team had been taken down. The pilot had shown a fair presence of mind by giving them the location of the missing agents and updating them every now and then.

With communications down, location tracking was the only way they could help the damsels in distress.

Checking her location monitor, she observed that the agents were still at the same locations that they had been a few minutes before, half an hour before that, and for the last one hour. None of them had changed position which indicated that they were all unconscious.

Finding her way through the winding alleys in between the warehouses of the industrial area, she came to an absolute halt, the members of her rescue team coming to a halt just behind her.

"Eagle 2X3, this is Agent Mirage, do you copy?" Briana spoke into her com-links microphone.

"Loud and clear Mirage, what's the status?" Eagle 2X3's pilot replied over the channel.

"What's the medical status of the team?" She asked the pilot while carefully treading towards the crumbling warehouse.

"They are out," The pilot replied.

Nodding, she gestured three members of the rescue team to scout the perimeter of the warehouse in search of the agents who weren't trapped in the building.

Moving forwards, she led the rest of the rescue team into the warehouse.

"Tread carefully. The explosion has weakened the building's foundation," she said, pulling out her semi-automatic and removing the safety lock with a gentle click.

Lowering her night vision glasses, she switched them to infrared to pick up on the heat signatures of the missing team members.

Despite her careful observation of the area around her, it was quite some time later that she finally saw a heat signature on her radar through the cloud of dust.

"I have a hit. Going in," she said into her microphone.

"Roger that, Leader," responded her second in command.

"Notify me if anyone else finds a heat signature," she said before she moved forwards towards the heat signature.

Weighing each step, she walked carefully and slowly toward the signature. As she drew closer, it got stronger and so did the size of the being from which the signature was coming.

"2IC, I need you to bring in the cryogenic container," she said in a cracking voice while continuing to move towards the strengthening heat signature.

With her gun trained on the being, she waited for the rest of the team to come along with the cryogenic container.

A few minutes passed, and she stood there like a statue without making a single movement. Her gun was pointed unflinchingly at the creature that lay before her.

It was while the life signature of the creature strengthened when she heard the other members of the team behind her dragging the cryogenic container, which hissed with the tell-tale sign of escaping nitrogen.

"Stun him again," she hissed in her microphone.

"Its life signature isn't very strong Leader. I don't think…" said her 2IC, but she cut him off mid-sentence. "It's gotten stronger in the last few minutes. Now do as I say."

Less than a minute passed before she heard the stunner being fired. She heard the stun dart making contact with the creature's body with a slight thud.

"Bag him," she said when she was sure that the dart had administered the tranquilizer and had rendered the beast a non-threat.

Like clockwork, the SHIELD agents walked past her along with the container. Within minutes they lifted up the being and put him in the cryogenic chamber as if they had rehearsed it several times. She heard the sealing of the container, the last of nitrogen escaped with a hiss as the cryogenic chamber activated, sending the being into stasis.

"Container secured," said one of the agents.

Sighing, Briana opened a private link to her immediate commander. "Object acquired Director," she said, speaking in the microphone.

"The agents?" asked a heavy voice over the channel.

"My team is rounding them up as we speak," said Briana.

"I want to speak to Hawkeye as soon as possible," Fury told her, his voice grave.

"I'll revive him as soon as I find him," Briana replied, closing the link to Fury.

"2IC to Leader, we have Agent Barton," came her 2IC'c voice over the communication channel.

Briana heaved a sigh of relief. "What of the other agents?"

The communication channel cackled with static. "All other agents have been recovered and have been taken to the sonic copter."

"Good. Get them to Home Base," ordered Briana. "I'll bring Agent Barton on Eagle 2X3 along with the cryogenic container."

"Affirmative Leader," replied her 2IC, signing off from the communication channel.

"Eagle 2X3, we have some sensitive cargo to carry on-board. Are you well-equipped?" Briana asked the sonic copter's pilot.

"I hear you Agent Mirage. Eagle 2X3 is well-equipped and rearing to go," came the pilot's voice.

"Get the engines started; we're on our way," said Agent Mirage, leading the rest of the team out of the warehouse and towards the sonic copter, her charge secure in the cryogenic chamber.

Her comm. link cackled again. "We have left Agent Barton on Eagle 2X3 and are now flying away to Home Base. See you there Leader," her 2IC said, leaving with the rest of her team.

"See you back on home base; Leader out," Mirage said, ending the connection as she heard a pair of rotors firing up as the double rotor craft in which she had arrived flew away with the injured agents.

oOo

Agent Romanoff was flying to Home Base along with Vindex 35 and 17 when her sonic copter's pilot received an urgent message

George and Maeve, who were sitting right opposite her, noticed the change in her face, however subtle it was. Romanoff didn't say anything but simply nodded, and even if she did say anything it was hardly more than a silent mumble.

With quite some time to go before their arrival at _Home Base_, George decided it would be best to change out of his civilian clothes and into his S.H.I.E.L.D. uniform. Unbuckling his seat belt, he got up from his chair, picked up his duffel bag, and walked to the side cabin adjacent to the cockpit's entry.

Closing the door behind him, he breathed a sigh. Opening his duffel bag, he drew out his raven black uniform with a silver grey SHIELD logo on the right breastplate. Taking off his jacket, he quickly unbuttoned his shirt and unclasped his trousers. He folded his clothes and placed them back in the duffel bag before he slipped into the familiar comfort of his uniform. He buckled the utility belt and zipped up the uniform jacket, stowing his pistol in the holster provided on his utility belt.

Deeming himself appropriate to meet Director Fury, he walked out of the side cabin, all set for his appointment and assignment. He heard a low whistle ringing out through the copter's cabin. Turning his gaze to see the source of the whistle, he caught sight of the girl who had been picked up along with him.

Not giving it another thought, he rolled his eyes, stowed his duffel bag in the containment section, and walked back to his seat, strapping himself in for the rest of the journey.

"You clean up well," said the girl sitting beside him.

Sitting right opposite them, Agent Romanoff gave a faint chuckle; a small smile found its way to her lips.

"No seriously. You clean up well," the girl reiterated, again drawing no reaction from the sallow-faced blonde man. Now that she could see him properly, she observed that he probably was a lot older than her. He had a tall, lean frame that seemed to be accentuated by his SHIELD uniform, which fit him snugly, drawing attention to his biceps and highly toned body.

_Vindex 17_… She pondered on his codename. It seemed that he had been with SHIELD for a pretty long time. The Vindex codenames, unlike those of other intelligence agencies, were accorded in terms of seniority. With a difference of eighteen numbers between them, it was a given that he had been recruited by the international covert ops a long time ago.

She knew there were a few single digit Vindex agents, but they were all living in anonymity after having served their time with SHIELD. Vindex 10 through 20 had been in SHIELD's employment up until a few years ago, before the Vindex program was abandoned, even though its members remained. The agents weren't on an active duty list, but they were honor bound to answer any request, for it was SHIELD that provided them with their bread and board. Not only that, SHIELD also ensured their social security, aliases, bank accounts, and other necessary transcripts.

"You're cold, you know?" Maeve said unapologetically.

What came next was most unexpected, as a cold wind hit her. It felt as if icicles had pierced through her body and the chill was spreading through her veins. Goosebumps erupted all over her body, and her lips and nails turned blue from the intense cold, making her gasp in pain.

Just like that, the cold disappeared as quickly as it had come, but its effects still lingered, making her shiver intensely in her chair, forcing her to cry out in pain.

Her cries didn't go unnoticed as Agent Romanoff got up from her chair and ran towards the young girl.

"Maeve!" Agent Romanoff shouted. "Stay awake. Don't you dare close your eyes," she said as she scoured through the overhead cabin. Within minutes she found what she was looking for, a small box labeled with a tiny red cross; the first aid kit.

As the young girl shivered with cold, Agent Romanoff kept her calm as she inserted the syringe's needle through the cap of one of the medicine bottles.

"Hold tight Maeve. You're going to be out of your misery soon enough," she said, drawing on the syringe's piston. "_We've prepared ourselves for such situations,_" she added mentally, sending an angry glare towards George, who was sitting in his chair, eyes closed and seeming oblivious to the pain of the girl sitting beside him.

Rolling her eyes, Agent Romanoff drew out the syringe's needle from the bottle and strapped Maeve's arm to pop the vein out. With one hand she kept Maeve's arm still, and with the other she inserted the syringe into her vein, pushing the piston down to empty its contents into Maeve's system.

With the medicine in her system, Agent Romanoff unstrapped Maeve's arm and let her be.

For the next few minutes she did nothing but run her hand over the young girl's head as she shivered and moaned in pain, but the medicine seemed to be doing its work as her body temperature began to rise and the shivering began.

Romanoff sighed. "That was completely uncalled for," she rebuked him harshly.

"She shouldn't have instigated me," George said in a low voice.

"Instigated you?" Natasha asked him, her voice rising. "She did nothing to instigate you. What is wrong with you? There was no need to exercise your strength on her."

"I didn't exercise my powers on her," he said, getting up from his seat. The temperature in the cabin dipped several degrees.

"Look what you are doing now?" Natasha said, her breath coming out in a dense cloud.

George continued to stare at her, but Natasha wasn't the one to be stared down. "See, what you're doing now?" she said. "Think about it."

Breaking the stare, George looked away from her and sat back down in his seat. Slowly, the temperature began to shift back to normal.

Natasha, however, continued to hover above him. "You need to control your powers," she said in a calm voice.

"I didn't mean it!" he snapped back, causing another sharp dip in the temperature.

Clenching her fists, Natasha turned his back towards him.

Not wanting to spend the rest of the journey with him, she escaped to the cockpit, leaving George alone with Maeve.

As the cockpit door closed behind her, George heaved a sigh of relief.

_What's wrong with me_, he asked himself before closing his eyes and forcing himself into a short nap.

oOo

A lot had transpired in the past few hours. Fury wasn't even sure how he had managed to deal with all of it without losing any of his agents.

Looking over the list on his palmtop, he saw the list of names that he had crossed out. Going over the struck out names, a few caught his attention.

_Drake Dark._

Out of all the names, this particular name had led to a rise in his blood pressure. The doctor in the medical bay had informed him to take it easy for the next couple of days, but Fury being Fury, he couldn't take a break. Instead, he icily requested the doctor to take a hike.

Sighing, he pressed his finger against the name to reveal all the information they had on him.

_Name: Drake Dark_

_Age: NA_

_Personal Information: NA_

_Human: NA_

_Mutant: Dragon physiology. Black scales that seem impenetrable. Superhuman strength, speed and senses (unmeasured).Possesses the ability to fly. The creature has a wingspan of about 20 feet or greater, depending on its size at the time of flight. Size of mutant varies with variations in level of power. The mutant can breathe fire and cause large scale explosions._

_Powers Weaknesses: Armor can be pierced with projectiles of highly-dense, titanium-steel alloy. Concentrated light sources and high pitched frequency blasts overload the senses._

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Fury massaged his head to relieve the stress. Drake was just one of the mutants that he was worried about, but at the moment was one of the lesser of his troubles.

As he went back to the previous page on the file, he heard someone knock at his door.

He had been expecting her for the last hour since she had arrived on the base, but it seemed that something, or rather _someone, _had held her up.

"Come in," he said in a booming voice.

The door opened and in walked a tall, slender woman. She wore her hair short and tied behind her head. Dressed in a Kevlar bodysuit with knee-high combat boots and a trench coat, she swept into the room with casual confidence into the room, her eyes fixed at Fury. A sudden chill fell over the space.

"I was expecting you an hour ago," he stated with a questioning gaze.

A smile crept upon the young girl's face. "What can I say? I was otherwise occupied."

Fury didn't smile, but he couldn't bear to control his own humor anymore. "I hope you didn't give him frost bite," he said, maintaining a placid face.

"I'm sure he'd be able to have children if that's what you are worried about," she threw back a retort, a devilish grin playing on her lips.

Fury barked out a laugh. "It's nice to have you back Merrin, or would you like me to refer to you as Vindex 11."

Merrin laughed. "Those aren't the only names you gave me."

A smile crept onto Fury's face, a smile that was reflected by his eyes. "I guess I could always call you _Shooter_."

Merrin smiled and took the seat opposite him. "I'm guessing we have a lot to talk about."

"You have no frigging idea," Fury said, sliding the palmtop towards her.


	4. Chapter 4

**The Workings of S.H.I.E.L.D.**

Home Base's main hanger was bustling with activity. Normally it was only open to technicians who worked on the various types of crafts, a fleet of which SHIELD maintained, but as of now it seemed the entire base had come down to the main hanger to catch a glimpse of a once-in-a-lifetime spectacle.

They had all heard about it as children, read about it while growing up, and seen it on the silver screen, but seeing a dragon in real life could possibly be a one-time opportunity. With over a hundred agents, field hands, and deck officers milling toward the main hangar, Director Fury had to resort to using Home Base's sound relay system to ask the additional personnel to report back to their desks.

It took a couple of minutes, but when the agents realized that the dragon mutant wouldn't be brought out of the sonic-copter until they left, they decided to clear out and catch a glimpse later on.

Agent Hill monitored the people filing out of the main deck area. When the last of the agents walked out, Maria gave the all-clear to Fury and the others to come down to the bay and inspect the object for themselves.

oOo

With Merrin by his side, Fury strutted through the corridors of the Helicarrier to the main docking bay where _the Dragon_ had arrived.

"A dragon? Seriously?" Merrin asked with her eyebrows raised in question.

"We also have a fairy and a gargoyle, and trust me, they are nothing like what you read about in fairy tales," he shot back in a gruff voice, his forehead creased with tension.

"Right," she deadpanned as they took an elevator to the docking bay.

The next few minutes were spent in silence as they walked to the sonic copter, where Agent Hill was waiting for them. As they walked through the corridors, several armed soldiers joined them, each maintaining a comfortable distance, but were within a safe distance to shoot at any impending danger.

As the doors to the docking bay slid open, Agent Hill joined the entourage as it walked to the sonic-copter, a finger resting on the trigger of her gun, ready to fire.

"Bring him out, Briana," Agent Hill mumbled into her microphone.

Ready on a moment's notice, the sonic-copter's rear exit opened, and out marched the soldiers along with the cryogenic container.

Fury breathed in sharply as the cryogenic container was brought before him, Agents Barton and Briana standing beside it.

"What do we do with it?" Agent Briana asked.

"If my advice carries any weight, I'd suggest that this thing be kept under cryogenic preservation forever," Barton said, with a grave look masking his face. His blue eyes seemed hollow.

"I don't think we can do that, _Robin_," Merrin said, rolling the last word on her tongue.

"It's nice to see you, _Eleven,_" Clint replied, acknowledging his former apprentice.

"Well we aren't thawing him out anytime soon," Fury said, running a hand over the reinforced glass. He couldn't see the creature, for the glass was fogged from within, but he could hear and feel the reverberation caused by the creature's deep breathing.

"Yeah, well, I think we should freeze him," Clint said. "Permanently," he further added, exchanging a quick glance with Merrin.

The exchange didn't go unnoticed. "I guess there's no harm in taking some extra precautions," Fury said, moving away from the cryogenic container.

Merrin smirked. "It doesn't work that way. I'd need to directly access its bloodstream…" She left the sentence midway, knowing the senior agents and the Director were no longer interested in what she had to say.

"Fine, cart him off to the Level 2B lockdown chamber, and initiate _Code Methuselah_ on Levels 1 through 3," Fury said, calling forward the soldiers and handlers that had been tasked with the safe-keeping of the creature.

Turning his back to the container, he motioned for the rest to follow him.

"Is Natasha back yet?" Clint asked Maria, purposely falling behind so that Fury wouldn't overhear.

"Yes, but it seemed there was a mid-flight _incident_ that resulted in an injury," Maria deadpanned.

Clint didn't say anything but he didn't have to; his eyes spoke volumes.

"She's fine," Maria answered before he could put forward the question.

Clint, however, didn't relax. It hadn't been a good day for him. First, he had to rendezvous with four meta-human agents. Once that was done, he was sent with said agents to capture a dragon. _That _didn't go very well, and a recovery team had to be brought in for a contain/rescue mission.

His head was still buzzing, but he wasn't paying much heed to it. Briana had him up and going within minutes of the sonic-copter taking flight with their reptilian quarry, and he had decided to fill in Fury in person, fatigue or not. He had called Natasha's pilot to see if everything had gone well on their side, which it seemed to have, so _when_ did this little incident take place?

A flurry of questions ran through his mind, but he didn't have enough time to ponder over any of them for a reasonable answer.

Heaving a deep sigh, he followed Maria and Fury into the briefing room.

Fury took his place on the podium beside the screen, while Maria stood behind him along the wall.

Upon entering, he caught sight of Natasha, who gave him a small smile, silently asking him to sit beside her. Without wasting a moment, he took the seat beside her and they waited for Maria to close the door and for the briefing to begin.

oOo

Fury peered over the group of agents and _recruits_ like any other commanding officer would, with a mixture of pity and apprehension. Pity, in regard to the hardships he was going to further put them through and apprehension, because he wasn't sure if these were the right people for the job.

There were few people Fury trusted, some of his best agents among them. Others were internationally active crime lords, renowned politicians, businessmen and not to mention, celebrities. Throw in a demigod, a time-travelling super soldier, a highly dangerous scientist and a few other masked vigilantes; Fury was in the best company he could ask for.

He asked Agent Hill to take a seat before he began to brief them.

"First off, I'd like to apologize to the Vindex Agents for bringing them here on such short notice, and also for putting a few of them through a dangerous mission the moment they were re-activated," Fury said in a commending voice, raising his hands in appreciation to four agents who were sitting at the back of the room, two of whom were heavily bandaged, while the girl and another guy only seemed to sport minor cuts that had been looked at by the medical officer. Alex, Sean, and Andrew groaned in pain, but Belladonna maintained her calm and simply nodded, accepting the praise.

Clint cursed; he wished that he wouldn't have to work with any of the damn rookies again, but knowing Fury he knew his wish would never come true.

"Agent Barton and Romanoff, I can't thank the both of you enough," he said, directing a silent apology towards the veteran agents.

Clint and Natasha, however, maintained indifferent, passive faces. For the lack of a better term, they were pissed at him to no end.

"A round of applause for Agent Briana everyone, for securing and bringing back the dragon, along with coordinating a rescue operation," he said, praising the young soldier's effort and putting a smile on her face.

"Lastly, if anybody thinks that this is a commendation ceremony, I'm sorry to disappoint you, it's not," Fury said, returning to his gruff and serious voice.

"By the end of this briefing you will all be divided into groups of two, and will be given an assignment in which you cannot fail," he said, stressing on each and every word. "Remember that I do not accept failure of any kind," he further added to ascertain his demand.

"The reason you all have been brought here, is because we are establishing a team that can deal with super-powered criminals or mutants working for terrorist and other cross-border and international criminal organizations. It'll be your duty to track them down and bring them to justice. _Am I clear?_" he asked sternly, emphasizing on the last three words.

The young agents exchanged a few glances amongst them, but they didn't say anything.

"I take it that you have no queries, so I'd like to proceed further with this briefing," Fury said, bringing out his palmtop and conjuring several holographic images before them.

"You will be divided into four teams of two each," he said, gazing at the on-looking mutant agents.

"Merrin O'Reilly and Andrew Mancey, I'm assigning the two of you on a recruitment mission. I want her to come by her own choice," Fury said. He then looked to Merrin. "She might not be overly co-operative, but I trust that you'll find a way to negotiate with her."

Merrin nodded and Fury turned his gaze to address the remaining agents.

"George McLancent and Mirage," Fury said, addressing the ex-Vindex Agent and Agent Briana, "I'm sending the two of you on a search and capture operation."

His attention returned to his palmtop, and within seconds the hologram of a small girl was brought forward.

The female agents couldn't help but adore her.

The girl was exquisite, like none other they had ever seen. The girl had cerulean blue eyes that exuded innocence, set in the face of what could only be of an angel, with light blonde hair framing it on both sides. The girl was a wonder in her own right.

"Beautiful, isn't she?" Fury asked the gathered agents. Surprisingly, his voice too had softened.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Tonia Hartlyn, the most dangerous mutant that any of you might ever come across," he said with seriousness returning in his voice.

"I don't believe you," Natasha muttered under her breath, but it seemed she had forgotten that Fury had excellent hearing.

"What I meant was that she has the potential to become the most dangerous mutant at large today," he said, establishing his point.

"So you want us to get you a weapon?" George asked, his tone of distaste mocking Fury outright.

"In a manner of speaking," Fury replied. "Additional details have been sent to your PDAs, which have been linked to S.H.I.E.L.D.s satellites and synced with our comm. center here at Home Base. You may take your leave and prepare yourselves for the mission. The sonic-copters will be deployed three hours from now," Fury said; the dismissal in his voice was evident.

As if wired with an ignition key, the four agents got up from their respective seats and walked out of the room. Fury didn't speak until the last of them walked out of the door, shutting it behind them.

"Alex Rogers and Sean Mason, the two of you will be working together. Your mission is to detain a mutant who we think is working with the Irish Mob," Fury said, addressing the SHIELD operatives. "Vindex 24 and 35," he further continued, earning him identical glares from the two women, which he soon caught and made amends. "I'm sorry, Belladonna and Maeve; your mission is to recruit an individual who I think you won't have much problem with…In addition to that, you'll have to bring in _the Gargoyle._ The mission details have already been forwarded to your PDAs," Fury said, before he switched off his palmtop and walked out of the room, followed by Agent Hill, leaving the young operatives thoroughly gob-smacked.

"But, I just came back from fighting a dragon!" Belladonna complained loudly, her eyes darkening as a frown crept onto her forehead.

"Well, at least you didn't almost freeze to death," Maeve retorted, rolling her eyes and cursing George under her breath.

Alex and Sean walked out of the briefing room without saying anything. A few minutes later, complaining at the tops of their voices, Belladonna and Maeve too left the room, leaving behind the Pillar Agents of SHIELD.

"I feel old," Clint whispered into Natasha's ear.

Natasha didn't say anything, and the two sat there, quietly. They had earned it.

oOo

It had been an hour and a half since George had met Fury.

He wasn't happy, but that was the least that could be said of his mood. To be honest, he was annoyed. He was annoyed because he had been brought out of a peaceful existence to put his life on the line once again, for a cause that was not his own. He was annoyed because he wasn't in control of his life anymore.

True, he could leave everything behind and run, but he knew they'd catch up to him, and God knows what they'd do. He didn't mind killing people, he had done that for a living up until a few years ago, but those he had killed were criminals.

But that too wasn't the reason why he was annoyed. No, the reason why he was so annoyed was because he had to use his powers again. Then again, there was little he could do about it. The only thing he could now wish for was that after this Fury didn't have any further assignments for him.

Breathing deeply, he walked out of the elevator that opened up onto the secondary hangar, where SHIELD kept its Shadow-wings.

The Shadow-wing was a light transport craft that could carry about three to four passengers at a time. The beauty of the Shadow-wing was that it had a cloaking device on it, and the reflective panels provided complete invisibility. In addition to that, the craft also didn't leave any form of a trail, whether visible to the naked eye or not.

George looked around to spot the flight officer, who would know which craft had been assigned to him and his teammate.

Searching through the few techs and pilots present, he soon found the officer with the required epaulettes of rank. It wasn't difficult, since every hangar bay only had one such officer in command at any given time.

George walked up to the man, bringing his feet together in attention. He saluted smartly and said, "Vindex 17, George McLancent reporting for duty, sir."

The flight officer smiled, acknowledging the formal greeting. He asked George to be at ease and motioned for him to follow.

"I've been told that you're a SHIELD certified pilot," the flight officer said, going through the records on his digital assistant.

"Yes sir," George replied, his voice even and respectful.

"Ever flown a Shadow-wing?" The flight officer asked him, his brow arched in question.

"I've clocked 93 hours of flight time, but that was two and a half years ago," George replied, without hesitating for even a minute.

"I guess I don't need to assign a co-pilot then. You'll do son; SW-Firefox is the craft. Right end corner of the bay," the flight officer said before wishing him luck on the mission and turning his back towards him.

Sighing, George walked to the end of the hangar bay where he found the craft.

It seemed that it had already been fuelled, and the pre-flight check-up was underway. The cabin door was open, so he decided to walk in and introduce himself to the pilot.

He ducked his head as he entered the cockpit, to find, to his shock, a woman sitting on the pilot's seat.

"I see you weren't expecting a female pilot?" he heard her say, with a tone of disgust underlining the statement.

Taken aback, it didn't take George much time to realize what had just happened.

"You got that right." She said the disgust in her tone didn't let up. _(_

With the pre-flight check complete, she got up from her seat and turned to face him.

She was the same girl who he had been assigned the mission with. Mirage; that was the name Fury had addressed her by. He wondered what her real name was, but it seemed his thoughts weren't to be allowed the time to consider before she gave him the answer.

"Agent Briana Andrews, your pilot and co-assist on this mission," she said bringing her hand forward with crisp professionalism, though her face was still tight with displeasure.

George observed her from head to toe, before he took her hand in his and shook it military style, three times.

"Vindex 17: George McLancent. I happen to be your co-pilot," he said with a light smile, trying to win over her remaining temper.

The girl mirrored his smile, though it was obviously false, and beckoned him to take the co-pilot's chair before she adjusted the ear-piece and microphone on her head.

"Securing cabin," she said into her microphone.

Adjusting his own ear-piece and microphone, George checked the cabin pressure and locked the cabin doors, securing the cargo and overhead bays.

"Cabin and cargo secured, Lieutenant. Waiting for T's and P's to attain minimum coherency," George said, double-checking the pressure and temperature gauges. "And…we have it. Ready for lift off," he added, giving her the clear.

"Firing engines and setting overhead rotor to lift-off velocity," Briana said, pulling the yoke towards her, lifting the Shadow-wing vertically several meters up and out of the hangar bay, before she switched on the horizontal engines and sped the craft towards their destination: Olympic National Park, Northern Washington State.

It was going to be a long journey from one coast of the country to the other, but the craft was designed for that very purpose. George settled back in his seat. Might as well relax while he was still able.

oOo

Nick Fury was sitting in his study, drinking from a crystal tumbler, when Agent Hill walked in.

"The teams have departed on their individual missions sir, and Colonel Trask wanted to know if _his mutants_ had arrived," she said with her hands behind her back.

Anger washed over Fury, but then in the next moment, a devilish thought came to his mind.

"Take him to level 2B. I'll meet you there," Fury said, and without asking a single question, Agent Maria Hill took her leave, a smile playing on her lips.

Bolivar was about to get what he wanted, and ever so much more.


	5. Chapter 5

**Killers**

It was well past midnight when Alex Rogers and Sean Mason reached Chicago.

It had been a difficult flight considering the fact that both of them hadn't ever flown a Shadow Wing before but SHIELD wanted to train them while they were on the job. Luckily the Flight Officer had assigned them a pilot who had done nothing except tell them to switch off the warning lights as they began to drop altitude over Chicago's skyline.

It was an experience they didn't want to repeat, especially the one where they almost crashed into the Sears Tower and the Trump's Tower and Hotel. They were hopeless pilots but they had to fly and they had no choice.

Walking through downtown Chicago they soon came to the pub they were looking for. For an Irish pub it was quiet except for the sound of music that made its way through what seemed to be soundproof glass windows.

Sharing a glance the two Vindex Agents walked up to the maître d', "Good Evening, could we get a table for two?"

The maître d' smiled widely before asking a waiter to show them in. The place was posh for an Irish pub, quite posh and played host to what it seemed to be several different mafias. While the Irish and the Italians seemed engaged in _polite_ conversation the Chinese kept to themselves, choosing to ignore and remain at a distance from both factions.

Sean and Alex walked up to the bar and sat themselves on a stool.

"Welcome to á noite, what can I get you?" said the bartender in a thick Irish accent, a young lad in his late teens.

Surveying what was on tap, Sean ordered a mug of Rock beer for himself while Alex went for a milder Weiss blues.

"We normally don' entertain German makes, but wha'ever floats your boat." The bartender said, passing a mug to each of the Agents.

"So who are you to looking for." He asked, wiping the moisture of a glass.

Alex and Sean exchanged a glance before Sean turned to speak to the young man.

"We are looking for someone who goes by the name Night Wing." Sean said, his voice low and even but no matter how careful he was it seemed that he had just invited trouble to come knock at his door.

With a crash, the glass fell from the bartender's hands breaking into innumerable shards. That although was nothing in comparison to the expression he wore on his face. FEAR etched his face.

"What happened maite, cat got your tongue?" Alex said a smile playing on his lips.

Seething, the bartender leaned over the bar and spoke, "Speak carefully; otherwise you wouldn't walk outta here alive."

"Right" Alex scoffed, getting up from the stool and walking towards the nearest pool table.

The bartender followed his movements, "Your friend has a death wish." He told Sean, who was more interested in extracting more information about the 'Night Wing'.

"Doesn't á noite mean Night Wing?" Sean asked, drinking from his mug.

"Yea, it does." The Barkeep said.

"Is he here?" Sean asked in an even lower voice, in order to avoid anyone eavesdropping on him.

"Nigh' wing is here aw'rite." The Irishman said, "_She's _sitting out on the terrace, through those double doors."

Sean nodded, taking a long draught from his mug he got up from his stool as well, deciding to go for his catch.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." The Barkeep said, but Sean paid no heed.

Without another thought he began to walk towards the doors that led to the terrace. Alex seemed to have caught on to him and left his game of pool mid-way, falling in step behind him.

They were only a few feet away from the double doors when two men blocked their path, guns drawn and pointed towards them.

This was it. Both the Vindex Agents were prepared for this and without a moment's notice; they both drew out there weapons and began to shoot at the guards.

They didn't have to resort to their powers yet. Their SHIELD training would be enough.

Without remorse, or a shadow of doubt they continued to fire at the enemy and bodies began to pile up. No one from the Chinese or the Italians made an attempt to stop the agents; however the Vindices kept their weapons at hand. It would have been bad judgement to stow them away.

"So, what's the plan?" Alex asked him.

"We play the numbers game." Sean said, and before Alex could understand what he meant. Sean's body began to violently vibrate and right before his eyes, various figures began to emerge from the vibrating body. If it were left to Alex he wouldn't have been able to tell the difference between the original Sean and the copies. After creating about a dozen or more doppelgangers, Sean gestured at Alex to take the lead while he followed him with his multiple selves. By now most of the pub's patrons had _walked out._

They were close now, walking past the double doors they saw a group of people huddled together in a corner. An old man with cerulean blue eyes hid behind several pale-skinner, blue-eyed Irish gunmen.

Without a warning Sean sent his doppelgangers forward, pulling Alex by the arm as the lifeless human vessels were blown to bits by the gunmen. While Alex was a little stunned he quickly recovered from the initial shock, cursing himself for his lack of vigilance he soon brought himself up to task and began shooting at the guards through the distorting doppelgangers who Sean seemed to be continuously creating.

Taking his time, he took out each of the gunmen with a single shot preferring not to waste bullets unlike some other assassins and spies he knew.

It wasn't long before the only person left alive was the man old man or the leader of the mafia.

Dressed in his finest, he sat with ease with a glass of whiskey in hand and several dead bodies piled around him.

Making sure no one else was left; Sean faded his copies away but kept the safety off of his gun.

Alex decided to step forward knowing Sean had his back, "We apologise for the mess we have made but they weren't courteous enough." Alex deadpanned.

"You should have made an appointment." The old man replied taking a swig from his glass.

"One which you wouldn't have obliged to, I'm sure." Alex replied, drawing his gun and placing it between the man's eyes.

"I believe I might be of some assistance to you?" The old man sneered.

"We are here to speak to Night Wing." Sean said, keeping a watchful gaze around them.

The old man smiled, "She's here alright." He said with a chuckle in his voice, "You should have just asked for her."

"We did." Alex said, "The bartender didn't oblige us."

"Then you should have called me aloud." came the words out of nowhere, in a voice distinctively feminine.

Immediately, Sean sprouted his doppelgangers once again while Alex shot the old man through the head knowing he'd have tried to escape and died in the crossfire anyway plus it was convenient for him to do so.

With a gentle thud, a woman dropped into a crouch before them and as she rose from the crouch to stand up straight the guys couldn't help but check her out.

She had pale white skin like the other members of her mafia but unlike them she had dark, emerald green eyes with long raven black hair that fell in waves down her back and seemed to cup her face perfectly. Although she looked like a bomb, she was dressed to fight. A Kevlar bodysuit, with military grade boots topped with an overcoat completed the assassin look. All that was left to put on was a cowl but then the boys wouldn't have been able to appreciate the full pink lips.

"You guys are drooling." She said easing into a placid stance.

The boys realising their misjudgement brought their weapons back up.

"We are SHIELD agents and our organization believes that you may be of use to us." Sean said, easing his stance. Alex on the other hand didn't.

"If you want me to come with you I'm sure you can ask a little more politely." She said pouting, her voice childlike.

"Well our instructions say that even if you do consent we are supposed to handcuff you with mutant ability suppressants and keep an eye on you full time." Alex said, his voice lacking any form of humour, "so I guess we won't be putting away our weapons." He added as an afterthought.

"Fine, as you wish then" Night Wing said putting forward her hands.

Alex glanced at Sean to slip the cuffs on.

Retrieving them from his utility belt, Sean put his gun away and walked towards her with the cuffs in hand.

He was about a step away when the woman's eyes glinted with fury, "I guess I'm not in a mood to oblige either." She said with a smirk finding its way on her lips and in a flash of light and explosion Sean and Alex were thrown on to their backs with the debris from the explosion injuring them due to their close proximity.

Coughing violently Alex rose to a sitting position but he was unfortunately kicked in the face and thrown back into the ground with such force that cracks appeared on the floor.

Night Wing smiled to herself as she checked the unconscious form of the other agent.

Poor kids, they didn't know what hit them she thought to herself but it seemed she had spoken a little too quickly, for as soon as she completed that thought she felt herself being hurled through the air by an earth shattering force that seemed to be tearing her apart. She didn't last long to bear the pain as she soon passed out like the SHIELD agents before her.

A figure stood behind where she stood earlier, hidden by a curtain of dust and smoke, "Falcon R02 this is Vindex 51, Night Wing is down. Send the recovery team. Over." The man said in a faint Irish accent. "Affirmative Vindex Recovery Team is on its way. Prepare Night Wing for travel" came the reply on the comlink before all that was left was static.

Vindex 51 walked towards the woman, completely ignoring his fellow agents who he had only recently served beer. "Skylark – 1, Robyn – 0. Welcome to the bigger game sister." He said before he walked away from her.

**oOo**

There are people who hate the United States of America and then there are people who hate it so much that they want to destroy it.

Anastasiya Melekhova came in the first category but if someone didn't know her well enough they'd blame the next terrorist attack on the petite, America-hating Russian girl.

Walking back home to her apartment which she shared with her mother Anastasiya couldn't help but pull her overcoat tighter around her. She scoffed at the weatherman's prediction, cursing him to die in the arctic winds. "Pleasant Evening, my ass" Anastasiya said, cursing the weatherman.

It had been pleasant when she left work.

Strange, the chill seemed to have set in all of a sudden, she thought.

Quickening her pace she decided to take a shortcut through a back alley that opened up to the rear entrance of the building her apartment was in. Making her way through the dingy alleyway she let out a yelp of pain when she all of a sudden slipped on the surface she was walking on.

She felt cold as if she was lying on a slab of ice, the dampness and the chill began to spread through her clothes and to her skin.

She was scared now.

As she tried to help herself up, she put her hands on the ground only to jerk them away from the cold surface that seemed to send shivers up her spine.

"Cold isn't it?" An eerie voice whispered from behind her.

Anastasiya turned her head to see who was behind her but there was no one there.

Fearful and perplexed, she tried to get up but to no avail. She couldn't bear to touch the slab of ice she seemed to have slipped on.

"Mind if I help?" came the eerie voice again.

Raising her head with a jerk she saw a young woman stand in front of her.

She looked lithe, but Anastasiya couldn't make anything else out of her except that she dressed well. She was vain that way, had a beggar lent a helping hand Anastasiya would have scrunched her nose and asked him to bugger off.

The woman put her hand forward for Anastasiya to grasp.

Without giving much thought to it she took the lent hand but let it go as soon as she gave in.

The hand was cold, not as cold as the slab of ice she sat on but still cold enough to give someone Goosebumps. The woman although didn't retrieve it, instead she egged her to take it, "I'm here to help you." She said.

Anastasiya wasn't reassured one bit by those words but she was in an hour of need and this woman seemed to be the only who could help her.

Hesitantly, she took the hand once again and even though it gave her goose bumps she clasped it tight.

The other woman tugged at her, helping her on her feet, "Slowly now otherwise both of us will be down on our arses."

Anastasiya cracked a smile, although as she got on to her feet she realised that wasn't the only thing that she had cracked. She screamed in pain as she realised she had hurt her leg pretty bad.

"That happens" said the other woman with a slight smile playing on her lips.

Anastasiya looked at her in bewildered but before she could open her mouth to say anything she felt a piercing sensation in her neck and the next moment she blacked out falling into the cold arms of the other woman.

Merrin sighed, "Fury wanted her to come on her own terms." She said to Andrew, who was now standing beside her with a syringe in his hand.

The man smiled, "she took your hand didn't she?"

Merrin rolled her eyes as Andrew took the petite woman from her hands and flung her on her shoulder, a victory smirk etched across his face.

"Falcon R03, this is Sharpshooter. Come in." said Merrin over her comlink as used her powers to return the temperature back to normal.

"We read you Vindex Eleven. Over" Came the voice of the flight officer from the other side.

"Prepare for departure. We have the package with us." Merrin said, about to cut the conversation short when the captain spoke up.

"There's a message for you agent." came his voice from over the connection.

"I'm all ears, tell me." Merrin replied as she and Andrew stuck to walking in the dark alleyways towards their Shadow Wing.

"A Sabre Jet has arrived for your package. We have been detailed to another assignment on the British Isles." The pilot said.

Sighing, Merrin controlled her anger, "Affirmative." She said before she cut the connection for good.

Andrew looked at her team mate, "What's up with you?" he said quirking his eyebrow.

"Fucking Fury has given us another mission." She growled and post that Andrew decided to not question her anymore.

The sudden chill she let off sent a death chill down his spine

**oOo**

George wasn't sure what he enjoyed more, the hunt or the kill?

"The hunt." said his mission partner in a disturbingly joyful voice.

"Excuse me", George said, amazed how the woman could pick on each and everything he thought of.

"What?" Brianna said, unabashed. "You were thinking it aloud. Use the shield if you don't want me prying in your head." She added with a laugh playing on her lips, checking the vast open valley before them for signs of a heat register.

The tall pines and the continuous downpour made it difficult but the two of them had been given their training in such conditions. It was regular duty for them.

"Any sign of it?" George asked building a mental shield around his thoughts. Technically his mental shield consisted of thinking about a ball of ice at absolute zero and several metres thick with all his thoughts and memories locked inside of it.

"No, are you using your powers?" she asked, rubbing her hands together as she monitored the infrared activity on the valley below on the computer screen inside the Sonic copter.

George chuckled, and shook his head.

It seemed to be an after effective of trying to access his now _secure thoughts_, he thought to himself.

"Aren't we supposed to go outside and look for it?" George asked.

"We can't do anything unless the rain lets up plus there is no infrared activity that signifies its presence. There are other things out there, animals and maybe a few campers but nothing with a heat temperature that we have been given, there's nothing here that's above a 150 degree Celsius and SHIELD has put up sensors in almost every place possible, I can assure you of that." She said, lecturing him quiet.

George sighed, he was bored beyond belief. He was a hunter, an assassin, a tracker. He wasn't the one to wait for trouble to come up. He was the type of person who had been trained to go look for it and then eliminate it for good. He wanted to go out there and look for the _Gargoyle._ His original mission had been to track and contain a child but he had exchanged his mission with Vindex 24 and 35, they too had seemed keener to go after fairy girl than the demon's child.

Taking a command decision, he decided to screw Brianna…

"Excuse me, could you please control your thoughts." Brianna said exasperated.

George's brow knit in confusion as he went over his thoughts.

"That one, right there…'screw'" She said, emphasising on the word, her lips pouting most attractively.

George mentally smacked himself, what the hell was he thinking?

"I'm going out to hunt that thing. You stay here and keep me posted." George said opening the side door of the Shadow wing's cabin and jumping out into the downpour.

"Where are you going to look for him?" She shouted after him.

Her comlink crackled to life as he spoke into her ear, "give me the coordinates that indicate human temperatures."

Brianna couldn't help but admire the veteran agent.

The mutant could be in his human form.

"He's a good hunter." She said amazed at his genius before she set the sensors to detect organisms between 94 and 102 degree Fahrenheit.

The screen automatically lit up with several signatures throughout the park, not very intelligent after all.

"Anything yet?" came George's voice over the comlink amidst the sound of rain pouring through the forest.

"Yeah _iceman_, over a hundred human signatures" Brianna said, the sarcasm evident in her voice.

She heard him curse from the other side, "Try and keep the range between 106 and 116. I don't think even in human form he can reach the normal body temperature. My temperature normally stays at about a 91." He said before his voice fizzled out in static, forcing Brianna to disconnect until he managed to connect again.

She again got to working with the sensors, changing the range to 106 and 116 as George had asked her too. As she fed in the commands to refresh all sensor data, there weren't many readings to help her. A few she lost due the interference from the rain but there were three that stuck out.

Not waiting for George to connect back, she beeped him to switch on his comlink.

It wasn't long before Brianna's comlink came alive with static followed by George's voice.

"I guess you finally have something for me." He asked, with a hint of excitement in his voice.

"I do, there's a signature on the cliffs facing the ocean, the windward side of the cliff." Brianna specified as she saw the three dimensional topology of the heat signature's origin.

"I guess I'd need to come back to get some grappling hardware." George said but before he could say anything else Brianna cut him short telling him that she was coming along with him and was bringing the hardware along.

It took Brianna about twenty minutes to find George, she didn't possess his tracking skills in addition she was weighed down by the grappling material.

"You know how to reach him right?" George asked her as he saw her walk towards him.

Brianna nodded throwing a backpack towards him.

Taking out her digital assistant, she began to scour the recent changes in sensor data.

"It seems he's on the move." Brianna said with an uncertainty lining her voice.

"What do you mean?" George said coming to her side to observe the sensor imagery and information.

There on the small screen he saw a two dimensional map of the entire national park, which showed their GPS location along with the position of the person they were hunting. The data wasn't accurate as it only gave a general location. The heat sensors couldn't determine the exact position of the mutant but if they were to be believed, the sensors that is then they wouldn't have to go looking for it because it was coming right to them.

The orange dot symbolising the Gargoyle flashed brighter and brighter as it neared them on the screen.

It seems the hunt had gone wrong.

"I guess we are no longer hunting." George said drawing his machine pistols from their scabbards, one in each hand.

Brianna too secured the digital assistant, but not before sending a distressed call to _Home Base_ at which George rolled his eyes but Brianna couldn't be bothered. This was standard SHIELD protocol and she being a regular Agent had to follow them.

The rain made it harder for them to hear their approaching threat but if they were to go by their gut feeling then they should have opened fire the instant they felt like it, unfortunately that wasn't to be.

With great force they were both bodily lifted from the ground and thrown several feet into the air before being smacked down into the earth with full force.

George and Brianna didn't see it coming but they should have for they were now vulnerable and at the mercy of the devil's child, who now looked upon them with his blood red eyes.

Bending down to check on the two agents the gargoyle didn't realise what it was in for when it moved to touch George.

The effect was immediate; the grey scaly skin of the gargoyle's claw began to freeze right before its eyes making it howl in pain. As the chill began to spread through the rest of its body, the gargoyle began to change. The sickening sound of the bones and joints snapping back into place, along with the screams of pain made George's nightmare come alive even though he was unaware of it.

The scaly skin subsided, leaving behind an unhealthily pale skin tone. Where earlier stood the demon child, now lay a broken boy freezing to death his body turning a sickening blue colour. If anything remained the same it were his red eyes, burning bright like rubies as the boy shivered with cold.

The SHIELD recovery team were a long way off. It'd be good if they reached there in time.


End file.
